Lips Red As Blood

19 |

Cora releases a throttled scream, surprise exploding through the air — and while she expects the boy to flinch or look startled (or better yet, run away and leave her alone), he does neither of those options. 

Instead, he continues smiling like an idiot. Which makes him look creepy. 

"What do you want?" she snaps at the short kid, before instantly feeling bad for using such a harsh tone on such a sweet-looking child— 

"Tell me about your boy problems or I'll curse you," the boy declares, looking thirsty for any piece of gossip. "I wanna know everything: who this boy is, what happened, and why you look like you're about to cry. Do you like him? No, wait, you probably love him." 

He stretches the word "love" out and Cora sighs. "Look, kid, I don't have time to deal with an adolescent twelve-year-old who wants to know about my love life—" 

"I'm not twelve." He pouts sulkily. "I'm sixteen."  

Wait, what? Cora gapes at the boy, who looks like he's four foot ten. He's also wearing a ladybug backpack, reserved for first graders. "I can hear you judging," he says, tapping the side of his head. "That's extremely hurtful for my feelings, so make your thoughts shut up." 

Um... 

"I'm just gonna go," Cora says, randomly pointing in a direction away from him. "This is getting weird." 

"Hey, wait." He cuts her a glare, one that sends chills down her spine. "You haven't told me what happened with Asher yet." 

The hair on Cora's skin rises, as she slowly turns back. I didn't tell him Asher's name, Cora thinks, panicking slightly. So how the hell does he know about Asher? 

"What do you want?" Cora repeats her earlier question, though her tone is cautious. Everything about this boy screams of danger. "Don't move closer." 

The boy stops, before breaking into a chilling smile, one that looks twisted underneath the dark sky. "I want to know what happened between you and Asher," coos the boy, voice made of melted sugar and golden honey. "Tell me, Cora." 

If Cora thought this boy looked like an angel before, he now looks like a complete demon, amber eyes with a slight crazed sheen to it. 

"Nothing happened," she says through gritted teeth. 

He tilts his head as if trying to listen to hear the truth. "Lies." The word falls from his lips, and his aura seems to grow more threatening. "Why are you lying to me? It makes me feel hurt." 

The boy holds her gaze, expression seeming completely unstable now. "Because I don't know you!" Cora manages, trying to catch her breath. His pressuring stare is making Cora feel suffocated, fear trickling through. "Why should I tell the truth to a stranger?" 

"Hmm, you do have a fair point." He looks down, before extending a hand. "I'm Kai. We're besties from this point forward. Now you can't lie to me ever again." 

Cora stares at Kai's hand, something unpleasant curling through her stomach. "Okay," she says quickly, afraid if she doesn't agree, something bad will happen. "Anyways, excuse me, I have somewhere to be." 

Standing up, Cora throws a wary glance over her shoulder, unnerved when Kai keeps staring at her. Shuddering, she quickens her pace, fast-walking towards Harper's room. 

He's not human. That's what Cora knows for certain. Just those innocent eyes that say they know more than they let on, how the creepy smile lingers on his lips, and how he knew Asher and Cora's names. 

But what does he want? Cora wonders, chewing on her bottom lip. Everyone has hidden agendas and intentions: Asher needs to complete his mission as a devil, Brielle and William want to hurt me — but what about Kai? 

If he wanted, he could've attacked Cora the moment he saw her. 

Taking an unsettled breath, Cora bursts into the room, seeing Asher studying something intensely. "Asher, you'll never believe what happened," she says, momentarily forgetting their deal to treat each other like partners and nothing more. "There's this short kid who claims he's sixteen and he knows our name even though I never said anything to him, and I just get this really creepy vibe from him, and I don't think he's human—" 

"Wait, slow down." Asher looks startled by the fistful of information thrown at his face. "You okay, Angel? You look frazzled." 

"I'm fine." Cora pushes hair away from her face. "It's just this kid I bumped into, who somehow knew our names. Even though he didn't, like, physically do anything... there was just this feeling that he knew more than he was letting on—" 

The door slams open and Cora's mouth drops when she watches a devastatingly beautiful short boy saunter in. "Hi." Kai's eyes glitter, the lights above sending glass-cut dust dancing on his pale skin. "If I had a mother, she would tell me that it's bad to gossip. But since I don't, I'll let this pass just this once." 

Kai trots forward, until he sits on Harper's bed, legs propped open like he's a doll. "So." He smiles. "I hope you were saying good things about me. If not, I'll be upset since we're supposed to be besties, Cora." 

Asher slowly moves towards Cora, movements tense and careful. "Cora," he whispers loudly. "Why is there an eleven-year-old in this room, claiming to be your bestie?" 

The said boy releases a loud huff, crossing his arms. "I'm not eleven. I'm sixteen, so get it right, people." Exasperation etches in his face. "Are you insulting my height? Is that it?" 

Don't make him mad, Cora mouths clearly, pinching Asher's arm. 

"No." Asher falters for words. "It's just your... adorable baby fat, that gives me the impression that you're eleven. Or ten." 

She facepalms. 

Kai looks miffed. "I do not look eleven or ten! You're the one who looks like that!" he shouts, before taking a deep breath. "You know, it's quite rude to call your assistant an eleven-year-old when he's clearly almost an adult." 

"Assistant?" At the same time, Asher and Cora echo the word, looking both confused and lost. "What assistant?" 

"Me, of course." Kai says that like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm going to help you guys get into Hell." 

Author Note: 

aaa i'm almost at 20,000 words! ty for all the love you ppl have been giving me <333